Sauvin
by Denjer-the-Otter
Summary: A black squirrel, emotionless and without sympathy. Mysteries surround him. This is the story of his life. Sauvin. Read and review!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Redwall. Brian Jacques holds all copyrights.

_Author's note: Looking back at my writing, one character I made stands out to me more than anyone. That character is Sauvin. What makes him so independent? Why does he express no emotion? Why can he not stand the feeling of dripping water on his face?_

_I decided to answer all these questions in one story. This story is about one of my favorite made up characters. Sauvin._

Sauvin

Chapter 1

_Growing up_

Rain thundered against the evening sky, and the blistering wind forced the trees to bend low under continuous gusts. The trees were shattered by lightning, giving great cracks and falling into rivers, muddy paths, and onto other trees. The thunder clapped and drowned out the sound of a small, crying baby. It was a black squirrel, lying in the mud, paws groping for some sort of food, or milk. A dirty paw lifted him off the ground and placed him in her pouch. The boy's name was Sauvin. The dirty paw belonged to his mother, Karin.

The squirrel whined and cried, looking with deep, brown eyes at his mother. Karin gave a wry smile and tickled the little baby's chin. The squirrel growled and nibbled her paw.

"Ouch!" She yelped and sucked her pinched finger. "Why can't you be like normal babies and giggle when I do that.? You only get angry at me and bite me. Oooh, don't worry little Sauvin, I'll find us food soon, once we reach the village... Maybe... Maybe someone there will take us in, unlike the other villages we passed."

She was referring to three other villages that were too stubborn to take any outsiders. Karin sighed as she thought of her husband, to which Sauvin was born. It grieved her to believe he died to vermin's paw, shortly after she conceived to Sauvin. The vermin burnt their home and left them to die, but Karin escaped. She escaped, and, soon after, gave birth to Sauvin. Since then, she wandered around, looking for lodging, but to no avail. Nobeast was kind enough to take her in. It had been two months, eating roots and berries, hardly enough for both her and her son. She didn't want the baby growing up like this.

Now, she was on her own, directed by a village, to a different village, where she hoped that maybe finally, she might live in peace.

Hours passed. The rain beat against Karin's face as she shielded her son, staggering determinedly on, though her legs were weak and frail. More hours passed. A tree fell and landed feet from her, but she merely climbed over it and continued. Another hour or two passed. Her eyes were becoming glazed over in anguish, each step like a dagger in her feet. Finally, putting the baby out before her, she collapsed.

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"Do you think they're naturally black like that? Ah've never seen such a thing..."

"No, Benji, I think they fell asleep and let the rain beat on them for who knows how many hours, and the dye stayed on."

"No need t'be sarcastic with me, Dealot."

"Eh, what's that? She's coming around!"

Karin groaned and rolled over. She didn't have enough strength to open her eyes, but she muttered something incoherent and grunted.

"Eh? Speak up, me lady, an' tell us your name an' where yer from."

Karin heard a loud slapping noise and a yelp.

"Yew idiot! She just woke up! How about we try this. We put ye' through everything she's gone through, an' then see if you can rattle off your name an' where you're from in ten seconds!"

"Er, no thank you..."

Karin mumbled something else, but then said plainly, "Sauvin..." She opened one eye halfway and saw some spiked figures over her head. "My son... Sauvin..."

The hedgehog Benji clapped his paws. "Oh, y'mean the little tyke? He's fit as a flea. He's over on the other bed eating dried fruits as if there was no bottom to his stomach."

Karin smiled. "Oh. Good. Please... Take good care of him."

The hedgehog Dealot matted her brow with a damp cloth. "Oh, you're not going to die today, squirrel. It's not your time yet."

Karin coughed. "Aye, but it sure seems like it. This pain in my head feels like a sword running through it." she said, finally opening both eyes at once. She made note of her surroundings. She was in a small shack, obviously in a wooden building. She saw Sauvin on the other bed, munching on a damson that was half his size.

The baby squirrel muttered through a full mouth. "Bgglubglub."

Karin smiled. "I've never been able to understand the boy, but he continues saying strange things. Maybe someday he'll actually say something correctly."

Dealot laughed. "I'm sure he'll be able to speak someday, miss. Oops! I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Dealot. This cheeky hedgehog over her is Benji, my husband."

Karin smiled. "My name is Karin. As you know, my son's name is Sauvin."

Dealot nodded. "Now, it'd be better if you got some sleep now, miss Karin. You've obviously had a rough night. We'll introduce the baby to the other ones. Maybe he'll make some friends."

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Growing up, Sauvin matured before his time, it seemed. He rarely involved himself in any of the other children's mischevious plots to steal cordial and such from the village kitchen. At least, not that the others could detect... His friends would often feast on scones and cordial that were pinched by the black squirrel.

His friends were a mouse and an otter. The mouse's name was Jem, and the otter was a female named Feran. They were as close as any friend could be, and very good at staying out of trouble, it seemed. The three were called the 'The miracle trio" jokingly by the rest of the village, because they had never before seen such obedient children. They didn't know Sauvin was there some of the time, but he really was, stealing from jars, pots, and cupboards without anyone knowing.

This was one of Sauvin's various skills. He would very easily conceal himself at the right times, learning this when he was able to hang from the rafters right in front of the village chieftain at night and not be spotted. This was another one of Sauvin's favorite things to do. He would wander at night and explore places he wasn't allowed into during the day.

Another one of Sauvin's skills was his amazing accuracy with stones and sticks. The squirrel would be able to knock birds out of trees and knock off poor creature's hats. Though this might make them angry, the sight of a four year old squirrel hitting birds from fourty feet below amazed them to the point of not setting a punishment upon him.

Sauvin was also very strong and agile, but he did not show this until he was out of his infant and young childhood years, when he was about nine. Though other squirrels were still having trouble jumping to reach the lower branches of a tree, he would easily jump, grab the branch and reach the top of the tree before anyine could count to three.

Sauvin's eyes was another thing that defined Sauvin. They had the amazing ability to change color, according to his mood. From what the villagers saw, they were red when he was angry, blue when he was nervous, green when he was happy, purple when he was sad, and grey when he didn't feel anything in particular at the moment. They had never seen black. In fact, few ever did. This was when he was sneaking. All the other colors were bright and distinguished. His darker eyes made him nearly invisible in the dark.

All these things made the village proud and consider themsleves blessed to have such a gifted creature come to their doorsteps.

Sauvin's relationship with his mother was also another important thing in his life. They were very close. He would snuggle into her lap and let her tell him a story about the old days before he was born. She would tell him about his father, and of the many accomplishments his father had to his name. From what she told him, it was enough to know he was a fierce warrior, strong and noble of heart, and devoted to Karin. Sauvin would sometimes think about his father and what it would have been like if he lived.

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It was on a clear, sunny day that the thirteen year old Sauvin was wandering along the village borders. He had never been beyond them, having always been afraid to step beyond the gate. Even without the continuous lecture on not leaving the village, he wouldn't have wanted to. At least, not when he was young.

Now that Sauvin was thirteen years old and yearned for a trip outside the walls. "If I could sneak out one night, maybe I could climb over these walls. I've never known what it's like to pass 'em." He began to think. The fence was too smooth to climb with paws alone. He would need someone else. Maybe Feran and Jem would be willing to help him.

"No way, Sauvin. I've heard stories about what goes on out there. I hear the word vermin used, too. From what I've heard, there are snakes, foxes, weasels, rats; all kinds of dangerous creatures! I'd never leave here." said Feran, disapprovingly.

Jem had other ideas. "I think it'd be great! Think about it! Exploring new worlds and fighting creatures with our very paws. I think it would be fun!"

Sauvin smiled. "Great! Meet me at the full moon in the dead of night. We'll be sure to make it out."

Feran, never wanting to be left out, agreed to come even though she didn't want to do it. "What if we run into trouble?"

"Honestly, Ferny, what could go wrong?"

Feran glared at Jem. "Don't call me Ferny!"

Jem laughed. "Why not?"

"'Cuz I'll call you Germ!"

Jem widened his eyes. "Okay, whatever you say, your majesty."

Feran smiled wryly. "So, I'll meet you outside tonight, then..."

Sauvin nodded. "Aye."

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It was a dark, clear, and warm night. Sauvin opened one eye to make sure his mother was asleep. He slipped out of bed without a sound and went into the kitchen. The squirrel passed the rooms where Benji and Dealot slept, hearing gruff snores emitting from it. He went to the knife block and exracted two small knives, good for throwing. Sauvin smiled and slipped them into his belt. _Just in case,_ he thought. He glanced left and right, opened the door and looked again. Silently shutting the door behind him, The squirrel tip-pawed to the spot he had planned with his friends. Jem and Feran were already there.

"Did you bring the rope?"

Jem nodded. "Aye."

Feran gasped when she saw Sauvin two small knives in his belt.

"What are those for? Are you planning on running into a fox?"

Sauvin shook his head. "They're for... you know... just in case we _do_ run into somebody!"

Feran glared at him. "I told you I don't like this idea. I'll turn back If you do anything rash. Not that this isn't already being rash." She added, trying to make a point.

Sauvin nodded. "I know what I'm doing. C'mon."

He said, climbing onto one of the nearby houses. He had picked a specific part of the fence where a house was nearby; a house that was carlessly built so that pieces of wood jutted out slightly. These would be easy to climb on. He made it to the roof.

The black squirrel peered over the rooftop at his two friends. "Now, toss me the rope...".

Jem threw up the rope, being careful not to throw too hard, lest it make a noise.

Sauvin caught it skillfully. He then looked to the fence about six feet away. It was not too far. He could jump. The agile black squirrel went back a couple paces, then darted. Holding the rope, he leapt from the house to the fence, grabbing onto one of the notches on the tope. The fence creaked loudly.

"Get down!" Whispered Sauvin urgently. A couple seconds passed, but no one came. Sauvin heaved a sigh.

"Phew!"

Feran was even more nervous now. "Oh, do hurry!"

Sauvin tied the rope to the notch he was on, then let the other end down. Jem climbed over, and as Feran came over last, she took the free end and draped it over the side for an easy return climb.

Sauvin punched the air in triumph, and then turned his head. "Wow! Would you look at that!"

He indicated the many miles of forest, going as far as the eye could see. "Let's go further! Maybe we can find something exciting!"

"Or dangerous..." muttered Feran under her breath. She had always been the more sensible creature in the group.

Fifteen or so minutes passed and Feran shook her head and shuddered. "Let's go back, we've gone far enough."

Sauvin glanced around. "Yeah, this is getting kind of boring. Let's head back."

Feran breathed a sigh of relief. Her heart jolted as Jem jumped in the air and pointed.

"Look! Look! Over there! A light!"

Sauvin's jaw dropped. "Yes! Jem, you're right! A fire!"

Feran shook her head. Foiled again.

Sauvin smiled. "I'll go in and investigate..."

"Oh, do be careful! It could be vermin!" whispered Feran

Sauvin shook his head. "Vermin don't scare me, Feran."

Feran glared at him. "They'll be your downfall someday."

Voices around the fire ahead of them was the only thing that stopped Sauvin from laughing in her face.

"Argh, 'tis a hard night we've 'ad e'er since we left the ship. Ah hope the chief ain't fergotten where we set ashore."

"Ah know, honestly. We've been eatin' nothin' but moldy bread an' ol' woodpigeons ever sicne we got 'ere."

"What we need is some good plunder."

"Aye, an' maybe some wine and meat."

"And fish?"

"Yuck, no more fish, mates. I 'ad enough when we were at sea!"

Feran understood from the moment the voices reached her ears that it was vermin speaking.

"Sauvin! Sauvin, get back here!"

Sauvin wasn't listening. He wanted to get closer. He climbed up the tree overhanging the vermin camp and looked down on them with his deep black eyes. There were about fourty assorted vermin. Some foxes, rats, stoats, weasels, and ferrets wandered around, eating whatever scraps they could find.

Sauvin glanced around and saw one stoat, slightly taller than the rest, and indeed much stronger. For a weapon he had a simple sword, very long and beautiful. On his face he had a single black eyepatch, and the other eye twitched and glanced around. His muscles were sinewy, his legs strong. The rags he wore were old and beaten. Everything about him intrigued the young squirrel.

_He looks friendly, _thought the squirrel.

_Craaaaack!_

Sauvin glanced back and saw the branch start to break. His eyes widened with horror as he saw he was hanging directly above the fire. The branch snapped, and Sauvin fell to the ground. The branch remained firm in his paws, and he slammed it into the fire. Dust and sparks flew everywhere. Into the air, at Sauvin, and at the vermin faces.

The big stoat, Shverik, was totally bewildered. One second everyone was walking around, minding their own business, and in another, the camp was on fire. He glanced around for the sign of any intruder. He spotted Sauvin.

When Sauvin fell, he had pointed the branch straight down. When the front point landed, it sent up ashes, but Sauvin never fell into the fire. Instead, the branch bent into a sideways U, and Sauvin was on top. He jumped from the fire and pulled the branch out. The leaves on the end were flaming. When he saw one angry rat charge him with his sword. Sauvin swung the branch with all his might. He then remembereed his friends.

"Jem! Feran! Run back to the village! Tell no one about what happened here!"

Feran was in total shock watching all of this occur. Jem, on the other hand, remained alert.

"Sauvin! What about you?"

Sauvin laughed. "Ha, don't worry about me, I'll get out of here."

He spotted another weasel charging him with a spear raised. It was then that Sauvin remembered the knives at his waist. He pulled one from his belt and jumped to the side, then hurled it into the weasels back. The weasel screeched and fell to the ground, never to rise again. Realizing he had taken a life, Sauvin cried out in frustration. Tears poured from his eyes as he withdrew the dagger and stared at the red blood on the knife. The feeling was strange.

Soon enough, he remembered where he was. He ducked a running rat and took off back towards the village. Sauvin wished he had never come. He now had the burden of a dead beast to think about.

This thought was soon casted off as he thought about his own life. Arrows whizzed by his head, hitting the dirt and tree trunks on either side. A spear imbedded itself into the earth in front of him, and he tripped over it. Springing to his feet, he continued running.

Sauvin sighed with relief as he came to the village fence and quickly climbed the rope. When he reached the other side of the fence, he removed the rope and spotted Jem nearby. He handed it to him.

"Here. Take this back. Your father will want it."

Sauvin then returned to his own house. He placed both knives back where he found them, then went to bed.

Sauvin did not sleep well that night. He kept envisioning the himself plunging the knife into the weasel's back. The shriek he gave and the noise of the body hitting the ground. This shook Sauvin's nerves. He rolled over and sighed. It was going to be a long night.

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Morning soon rolled in, and Sauvin yawned as he saw the sun through the open window. It was obviously late morning.

Karin looked at Sauvin, who was rolling over and rubbing his eyes. "Well, look who decided to wake up. Mister sleepyhead!"

Sauvin forced a laugh. He did not forget everything that had happened last night.

Karin smiled and pointed to the kitchen. "Your breakfast is in there. Dealot was a dear and made you your favorite! Strawberry cones, candied nuts, and some greensap milk. I think you'll find it hot. She only just finished."

Sauvin smiled and climbed out of bed. He was glad that he had not recieved a wound, lest she noticed it.

Karin smiled at him again. "Sauvin, do you know where Dealot keeps the knives? I'm trying to make some chopped apple cinnamon cakes. Shame on me, I should know where the knives are by now! I've lived here for ten years!"

Sauvin nodded and pointed to the drawer. It was a grave mistake, and he knew right when he pointed. Karin opened the drawer and shrieked.

"B- blood! A bloody knife! There's a bloody knife in the drawer!"

Sauvin tried to hide his face. "Er, well, I dunno. Maybe it's cherry paste or something."

Karin shook her head. "Even if it w_as _cherry paste Sauvin, why would they use a sharp knife to spread it, and why wouldn't they clean it before putting it back?"

Sauvin held his head as he took the knife and took it outside. "I'm sorry, mother. I was hungry! I took some from the cupboard and had it last night for a midnight snack. I guess I wasn't using my head when I put it back."

Karin nodded, still a bit nervous about the red liquid on the knife. "Oh. Well, go wash it off, okay? We don't want dirty knives floating around the drawers."

Sauvin nodded and took the knife outside to wash. He sighed, knowing that finally, he was out of trouble.

Or so he thought.

_Author's note: I have decided that Author's notes are too big of spoilers. From this point on, I will never talk about the story, unless necessary. Author's notes will only bring updates on update times, vacations, question answering, etc. Enough said._


	2. Things go wrong

_Author's Note: And now, for the more interesting part of our story._

Chapter 2

_Things go wrong_

It was a gloomy morning. The dirt was cold and slimy because of a slight drizzle that had happened earlier. The dew dripped off of the trees, and the mushrooms around emitted odors that would make anybeast cringe. These odors, however, were not nearly as bad as the corsair camp nearby.

The ragged old shelters were poorly built, obviously by somebeast without any survival experience.

"A child..." said Shverik calmly. "A CHILD!" said Shverik again, not as calmly as he said the first time. "You were all beaten by a baby squirrel! Not to mention, a perfectly competent weasel was slain by him! You are not warriors! Yore all scum! You wouldn't stand against a butterfly!"

One rat, braver than the rest, spoke up. "Well, we followed 'is trail sir, an' see..."

"Lemme guess. Y' foun' a little daycare down the road? Do y'think I'm an idiot!"

"No, sir, but we found a village!"

This brought the stoat chieftain to attention. "Hmm, tell me more."

"A village up the road, sire. Plenty of creatures there, an' the scouts reported a kitchin wir all sortsa vittles."

Shverik nodded. "I see. It's undoubtedly one of those villages with no warriors to defend it. In that case, get the troops ready. We attack tonight!"

The rat nodded back.

Shverik looked into a nearby red tent. "Cap'n Frarrl!".

A ferret came stumbling out of the shadows. "Er, yes chief?"

"I need you to command half my army tonight. Just in case they do have some seasoned warriors, we should probably flank them."

* * *

Sauvin spent the day with his friends, talking secretly about their expedition outside the village.

"Did you see it when I whacked the rat with the flaming bush?"

Jem was amazed, his eyes wide as he spoke. "Aye, you were so brave!"

"I'm just glad we made it out alive."

"Yeah, and what about that weasel that charged you. What happened to him? I saw him miss you, and I turned around and left!"

Sauvin silenced. "Well, I..."

Feran grasped his paw. "Oh, what happened? Please tell us."

Sauvin opened his mouth, then shut it. He spoke again. "I-I-... I killed him, I think."

Feran gasped. "You..."

Jem dropped his jaw. "You killed him? How!"

Sauvin hung his head. "I threw the dagger into his back. He fell, but I'm not sure he died. He could still be alive!" He saw, watching Feran begin to cry.

"I can't believe you killed him!"

"I- Maybe I didn't!" said Sauvin angrily.

"But maybe you did! Maybe his army will come back and get us for doing that! Oh, I'm worried."

Sauvin shook his head. "Oh, it'll be fine, Feran. Just don't tell anyone for the time being, okay?"

Feran nodded.

* * *

Night soon came. It was the night of reckoning for the death of the weasel at the camp. the rats chuckled amongst themselves at the thought of easy plunder, and a chance to sharpen and test their blades on something besides stones. They lined up in ranks on both sides of the village. The front rank had torches, for burning the fence. The middle ranks had swords and battle axes for close combat. The back ranks had archers and spears throwers. They waited for the signal.

The chieftain Shverik held up his paw. "One... Two... Three... Burn the fence!"

He signalled his rat, standing not too far away and carrying a white flag. The rat was in view of both leaders; Frarrl and Shverik. The white flag was waved. This was the signal.

On both sides of the village, the vermin shot their fire arrows into the wooden fence. Inside the village, everybeast was caught unawares.

* * *

Benji snorted, sniffing the air. "Eh? Wuzzat?" He said, poking his head up and staring around.

Dealot opened one eye. "What are ye' talkin' about. Go back t'-" She stopped when the scent reached her nose.

"Is that..." said Benji, staring ahead of him. "Smoke!" His eyes darted to the window. Indeed, the fence outside was burning. He jumped out of bed and glanced around.

"FIRE!"

A great crash could be heard, and vermin swarmed the village. Roaring and screamin could be heard as creatures were murdered in their beds. House were burnt. Blood flowed freely that night.

* * *

A young female otter raced towards her father, who was standing by a hidden compartment in the wall. The father beckoned her and his wife to hurry into the compartment. The female otter, who had been scouting outside to see what was going on, turned and dashed for her husband. Captain Frarrl saw this. He was just running byt the window when it happened. He roared at her to stop, but she didn't. He flicked the bow off his back and let an arrow fly. It hit it's mark in the otter's back. She groaned as she fell into the wall with her husband and daughter.

"Mother! Mother! Are you okay?"

No answer.

"Mother! MOTHER!"

* * *

Out on the dirt road, a mouse sat weeping over his dead parents.

"Father! No! Wake up! Mother! Please! Noooooooo!"

He saw their killer and grabbed a spear from the ground, hurling at his enemy. It was a pitiful throw. The spear fell flat and hit the ground before it even reached the fox. Jem sobbed as the fox came running towards him.

"I join my parents today!" He said bravely. The fox stopped mid swing, looking at the ferocity int the mouse's eyes. He stared for a moment, then turned away, like all cowards do.

"What! I'm only thirteen! Come on! Face me!"

The cowardly fox pretended not to listen. Jem roared his anger at him, picking an arrow up off the ground. He socked a nearby weasel archer and took his bow. He taughtened the string and fired. This time he had more luck, striking the fox squarely between the shoulderblades and killing him on the spot. Jem laughed, but it soon reverberated back into his own head. He had gotten revenge, but it had not satisfied the taste for blood. The death of a creature was now on his paws, and he knew that he was no longer free from guilt.

* * *

Inside Benji's house, things were horrible for Sauvin. Benji and Dealot had been knocked unconcious, though Benji was suspected dead because of the blood flowing freely from his chest. Dealot was strewn across him, her jaw disfigured from a mace blow.

Karin pushed Sauvin under the bed and tried to fight the vermin off with a kitchen knife from the rafters, but an arrow took her heart and a jumping slice from a rat was enough to take her out. They found the little squirrel cowering in fear under the bed, and the vermin pulled him out and looked him up and down.

Shverik took this moment to come into the house.

"Wot should we dew wit' 'em? 'E's the one t'at killed the weasel!"

Sauvin gasped. _He **had **killed the weasel!_

"Oh look, 'e regrets wot 'e's done! Let's keep him alive..."

"Aye..." said Shverik, and a horrible smile creased his face, "But don't let him off easy. Put him under his mother. Let the blood drip and stain his fur. Each drip will be a reminder o' the damage he caused."

Sauvin was gagged and bound tight to a chair. He was placed under his mother so that each drip would hit his nose. Shverik's soldiers left on his command, and he bent down and smiled at the little squirrel.

"Now squirrel, you will remember that you killed one of my soldiers. Now I killed your mother, so we're even!" Shverik said, laughing as he turned and left, leaving the squirrel alone. When he left, the first drop from his mother came down and hit Sauvin on the noise.

_Drip. Drip._

Sauvin sat in his chair, looking forward at the wall.

_Drip. Drip._

He whimpered as more drops hit his face. Each one a pain in his head.

_Drip. Drip._

More drops came, and the squirrel shook them off.

_Drip. Drip._

This time the drops hit his face and he felt a brief moment of hatred.

_Drip. Drip._

Sauvin whined again, each drip hurting now even more. Tears poured from his eyes as he

dared not look upward at the limp form of his mother hanging over the rafters.

_Drip. Drip._

Every drop that touched his nosed caused him to move a little closer to insanity.

_Drip. Drip._

All through the night, the drips hit his face, his fur becoming red on the nose.

_Drip. Drip._

Morning came.

_Drip. Drip._

Sauvin had not slept. Every time he tried, another drop would his his face and he would wake up.

_Drip. Drip._

Finally, after the gag had become moist with the squirrels breath, the knots loosened and Sauvin shook his head violently. The gag came off, and Sauvin let out what he had been trying to do for hours.

"ROOOOOOOOARRRRRGGGH!"

* * *

Sauvin was bound to a chair, but that did not stop him from shaking and spitting in anger. His eyes burned red and his footpaws shook and eyes twitched involuntarily. He roared and shouted aloud as he shook his chair in anger.

"AAAAAAAHH! MOTHER! SHVERIK! BLOOD! NO! AAAAHH!" raored Sauvin, mixed emotions running through his head. Fear, anger, sadness, despair, fury, frustration.

"NO! YOU CAN' T MAKE ME! STOP! STOP IT! NO!"

The cries had woken up Dealot. She was rattled and she jumped up and looked around. Her jaw was amazingly disfigured, seemingly smashed to the right side of her face. She looked at  
Sauvin, and then at Benji. She shook him. No reply. She looked at the blood on the ground. She fainted.

Memories flashed in Sauvin's mind. When he was nearly caught by the village chieftain after stealing bread; this made him nervous. When he first climbed through the treesand soared above the other squirrels; this made him happy. When he was walking through the forests with his friends; this made him curious. When he lost his sandals; this made him sad. When he slew the weasel at the vermin camp; this shocked him. Finally, he thought of Shverik Denken. Shverik's face burst clearly into his mind.

"ENEMY!"

Sauvin struggled with his bonds. All the time a drip would hit his nose, driving deeper into his head and causing him to cry out in anguish. Fortunately, there was someone to heed his calls.

Jem and Feran came dashing into the room, their faces wide with horror as they watched their friend burst out in anger. Though they were relieved that their friend was alive, they could not

help but think that their friend might never be the same anymore, and this was distraughting.

"SHVERIK! MOTHER! NO! DON'T DO IT! STOP!"

Feran wasted no time. She threw open every drawer and finally found a knife. She went behind him and was about to slash his bonds, but she changed her mind. If she cut the bonds, Sauvin would probably lash out in anger at anything in his path. She decided to calm him down first.

"Jem! Calm him down as I mat his brow with this!"

"NEVER! I WON'T!"

_Drip._

"AAAAAAAAAAA!"

Jem nodded, his eyes wide with shock as he watched Sauvin shake and struggle, every moment his eyes blaring different colors. Red, black, grey, yellow, black, purple, green, purple! They changed.

Jem took the knife from Feran. "I don't know how to calm him! You do it. I'm better with a knife."

Feran nodded, moving in front of Sauvin and taking his paws. "Sauvin! Sauvin calm down!"

She said anxiously.

Sauvin distorted his face into a figure too horrible for eyes to behold, his pupils retreating upwards and cold breath emitting from his mouth. His mouth opened wide and his neck strained forwards. With deep sincerity, Sauvin made an oath before he fell unconcious.

"SHVERIK WILL DIE!"

* * *

Sauvin opened his eyes. The warm eyes of Feran stared back. He blinked and looked around, not saying a word. Fear was etched in the back of his eyes, his every moment thinking of another drip to hit his nose.

Feran matted his brow with a damp cloth. "Sauvin, are you okay?"

She folded the cloth and putting it back into the bucket of cold water. Sauvin merely stared at her. She sighed, glancing back at the remainder of the village.

"There's nothing I can do. We must find him a good healer."

She did not speak to many beasts. Only Jem, Feran's father, Dealot, and three other beasts that had survived the attack.

An elderly mouse came forward and spoke."I know you creatures are young, but you have strong hearts and strength of friendship. I must say that you go alone to find Salamandastron. There, you will find a creature named Urthrun the gripper holding it's defenses, along with an army of hares. You will go alone, and with weapons. I know of a healer who lives there. Her name is Kacime Zen. There you will find out what is wrong with Sauvin."

Dealot jumped in between otter and mouse. Her jaw was disfigured from a mace blow, altering her speech dramatically. "Nogh wahy is Sawin gon' wit' a bunch o' younblings to shfallawortchamecallin! E's faw too yong, an' e'dd fawl easchily to vemmin."

The mouse shook his head. "The fates have much in store for this one. He shall not fall."

Dealot shook her head. "Twis vun ain' a goihng avywhere."

Sauvin turned his head and looked at her blankly.

"Loog ag him! He cagn't evevn calk! Wha'makes y' fink 'ell be awwle to owwacome vemmin wiv two iffat's at his side?" said Dealot, arguing her case.

Sauvin got to his feet and walked to the burnt gates, looking at nothing in particular as he went.

The mouse gazed after him, sighing as he spoke. "That one has sworn revenge against vermin; I can see it in his eyes. Any vermin he runs into will be dead before you know it."

Dealot watched as Sauvin poked at the ground with a knife that had been dropped by a vermin. "Bught... 'e loogks soh 'elpess!"

"Aye, but on the inside, he is burning with fury." said the aged mouse.

Dealot nodded.  
"He must go." Said the mouse, "The vermin have ransacked our kitchens, but they left some things. I'll see what rations I can make from the scraps. Perhaps there will be enough for three."

Jem would have jumped up and down in joy if he hadn't been grieving the death of his father.

"A journey. I would like to go on a journey."

The mouse patted his back. "Now you are thirteen you are growing in strength and wisdom. May the spirit of your ancestral warriors be with you at all times."

Jem nodded, staring at the ground, his eyes welling with tears as it had been doing since the sun came up. "Yes. My father, too."

The elder mouse nodded. "Your father will never leave you. I am sure that he will always be watching you whereever he go, and will intervene in your times of trouble."

Jem stared hard at the the ground, fury burning in his eyes. "Why... Why did Sauvin take this harder than me? Was my relationship with my father not strong enough? Did he die not knowing the truth?"

The mouse shook his head. "No, Jem. Did you see Sauvin's nose? It was blood red. They did something to him. Something horrible."

Jem looked around. "I don't recall anything in- What! When Sauvin was tied up, he was tied to a chair. I think he was placed under his mother!"

The mouse scratched his head. "Why would that be? Perhaps..."

Jem's eyes widened. "He-He-...! His mother was left to drip on him! They left his mother to drip on his face!"

This time, the elderly mouse was surprised. "No! That kind of trauma could change someone forever!"

Jem's eyes darted to Sauvin as the truth dawned upon him.

"Sauvin will never be happy again? He'll never be cheerful? Ever?"

The mouse shook his head. "I don't think that is the case. Everybody gets over their loved one's death eventually. However, I do think that when he was in the chair, he suffered emotional breakdowns. Countless emotions burned in his head, and he was unable to control them all. He has suffered neurosis. Neurosis is a disease that is similar to psychosis, but not as severe. Sauvin will have no trouble talking or walking, but he will have trouble doing other things. His mind will be different. I think, from what I have seen... I think he shall never show any emotion again."

Jem shook his head. "This can't be happening! He can't express emotions, so how can he-"

Then, Jem remember something. "His eyes!" He said aloud, "His eyes tell us how he feels! If we look at his eyes, maybe... Just maybe we can see how he feels." Jem went dashing towards Sauvin, who was still drawing aimless lines throughout the dirt with a knifepoint. Jem ran in front of him and looked into Sauvin's eyes. They were crimson red.

Jem almost smiled. "Wow... Figures this happened to him. The one who can't express emotions can express them with his eyes!"

The mouse elder came and looked at Sauvin. "You are right, young one. This is fortunate. Sauvin will be able to tell us everything with his eyes."

"Alright everybeast!" Feran's father came out from the kitchens with three haversacks.

His eyes filled with tears as he placed it on her daughter. "Now you look at me. I want you to always stay close to your friends. Never seperate from them. Together, friendship will overcome anything in your path, may it be a thousand rats, or a single rat. Also, I picked up this weapon for you. It is a carelessly built bow and quiver of arrows. I collected as many arrows as I could, even the one... The one that killed your... The one that killed your mother. It is special. The flights are green. Use it on an important enemy. Don't let is go to waste."

Feran nodded, her eyes filling with tears as she thought of her mother. "Yes, father." She said blankly. Her father wrapped his arms around her in a big embrace.

It was time to go. Sauvin, Jem and Feran were pushed from the city reluctantly, not wanting to leave what was left of their village behind.

"Promise you'll come back one day, Feran!"

The otter nodded her head and sobbed. "Yes, father!"

Feran and Jem cried, but Sauvin's eyes merely drifted from red to gray. He watched the ground as they walked.

Feran, Jem, and Sauvin had all been given weapons. Feran had ,of course, been given a bow and arrow, but she was also given a small dirk which had been found imbedded in the wood of their front door.

Jem had been issued a glorious sword, which had been found by Dealot on the ground near her house. It was long, double-edged, with a green pommel stone. Dealot guessed peridot, but upon looking more closely, she found that it was emerald.

"It probably belonged to a great warrior, taken because he was weighted down in numbers."

She had said, after being translated by the elderly mouse that had been so kind and wise.

Sauvin was given four small knives, each one dipped into a black dye so that they should blend into his fur. With this extra coloring, he kept them hidden in his fur, so that if they were captured they wouldn't be found, and he would be able to pick any lock easily.

Furthermore, each beast was given a small dagger and a slingstone pouch filled with slingstones.

* * *

It was midday when they stopped for lunch. This was suggested by Feran a long while back, but Jem said 'no' and Sauvin merely stared. He had done that a lot in the past couple hours.

They stopped and ate, but they were not talkative. Each of them had lost a loved one, and one of them his mind. Sauvin didn't eat. Instead, he stared into the river by which they had sat.

"Sauvin? Are you going to eat?"

Sauvin stared back and shook his head. Feran nodded, them Jem spoke.

"You know, I wonder if he'll ever eat again, let alone speak. Even I am disgusted at the thought of food." He said, throwing some baked bread back into his haversack.

"Besides, there isn't any fruit in this thing. The only fruits in here are nuts, but they don't taste anything like fruit."

Feran looked at him strangely. "Are you sure those are fruit? I mean, aren't all fruits juicy? Nuts are dry and crunchy."

Jem shook his head. "All fruits have seeds inside them to plant again. Tomatoes are fruits, too."

Feran laughed. "Well, that's understandable, but nuts? That's crazy..."

"There are some other things that might surprise you. Cucumbers are fruits. Beans are fruit, too."

"Scientifically all those things are all fruits."

"Where did you learn all of this?"

Jem opened his mouth and was about to speak, but he shut it again, his eyes becoming far away. "My... Father."

Feran's eyes widened as she noticed her mistake. "Oh, Jem, I'm sorry. I didn't know! I wouldn't have asked if I did."

Jem forced agrim smile. "Of course you wouldn't... You would have already known!"

Jem stared at the earth angrily. His eyes were thin, and he made a silent oath to help Sauvin and Feran get revenge. Jem was a realistic mouse. He knew they were never coming back. The young mouse thought resolutely to kill the ferret captain and Shverik Denken first, and then Jem would kill as many as he could before death took him. Then, his revenge would be complete, and he would be with his parents.

Sauvin gaped at the ground, his eyes darting aimlessly. The black squirrel sat wide eyed against a tree, his back supported by the fabulous trunk. He didn't feel like delving into his pack at the moment. Instead, he watch the others eat.

His friends couldn't help but notice. They found it too odd to eat while someone was watching their every move. The two friends decided to pack up for the rest of the day, and they continued watching.

Feran sighed as they came to a fork in the road. "Jem, pull out the map, would you?"

Jem nodded, opening his haversack. He pulled out a big brown piece of parchment. The mouse looked up and down it. Jem put the map back in his pocket. He then indicated they should go down the left path. Feran nodded, and started down it.

When the sun had finally begun to shine in their eyes, they stopped for a moment. "Whew! The sun's setting! Maybe we should stop..." said Feran. Jem nodded. Sauvin stared. The black squirrel dropped right where he was standing and sat staring up into the sky.

Feran looked at the squirrel, whispering to Jem. "Doesn't he look helpless?".

Jem nodded. "It doesn't surprise me. Look what he's been through."

Feran put a paw on Sauvin's shoulder. No movement. She thought for a moment. "Sauvin, would you go look for some water? You look like you need something to do."

Sauvin immediately stood up and began walking away. Feran stared strangely at him him as he walked.

_What could be going on in that squirrels head? I would give anything to find out! _She thought, laying out camp for the night.

Darkness came sooner than expected. Feran looked around for any sign of Sauvin's return. She was growing worried.

"What if he can't find his way back?"

Jem laughed. "Sauvin! Not find his way back? Ha!"

Feran shook her head. "I dunno..."

Jem put a comforting paw on her shoulder. "Look. Sauvin blends in very easily with the night. He's got black fur, remember? He could be hanging directly over our head and we wouldn't know it!"

Feran nodded. "Okay, I'll calm down. I was just worried. I'll put out the sleeping -ooch!" She groaned as she fell into the dust.

* * *

Jem looked down at her. "Are you alright?"

Feran nodded, looking up and rubbing the back of her skull. "Yes, I'm fine. But, a rock hit me. Someone slung a rock! They didn't sling very hard though. Maybe it's Sauvin."

She gasped as she realized she wasn't talking to anyone. Jem had been knocked senseless, a gruseome lump forming on his head. Feran screamed in the darkness.

_WHUMP!

* * *

_

"C'mon, 'urry up wit dem slaves."

"'Ey, don' rush me, they're 'eavy!"

"Aw, my grandma could carry four o' dem without a complaint."

"Oh, shawdup, you two... Groaning ain't gonna get us nowhere."

Three rats stumbled through the darkness, two had senseless figures on the backs. One of them was Jem, and the other, Feran. After a short while, they came upon a small vermin camp. There were only about ten, including the three slave carrying rats, their numbers dwindling from numerous battles. The rats were relieved to see some new slaves.

"We'll bring dese to d'traders later. Get some good vittles. Chain 'em up wit' d' others."

Jem and Feran were soon chained to the other creatures on the slave line. There were only three. A squirrel and two mice. They groaned and tried to roll over in their sleeps. Their chains proved this very difficult.

* * *

Morning came, and Feran woke with a start. "Agh!" She yelled aloud, immediately waking the other slaves. It was still dark, though it was indeed morning. Unfortunately, her yell also woke up the slave traders and their leader.

"Well, as long as we're up, we might as well get t'work on yew little creatures. C'mon, up and at 'em."

It was not long before Feran, Jem, and the other three slaves began marching.

"Move yer bottoms, yew mangy-nosed liver faces!

Jem snickered. "Speak for yourself... Oh wait! You did!"

The rat leader glared at him. "You'll regret that, mouse. Now, quiet."

"Aw, go tell it to your pet rock."

The leader glared at him. "I said shut yer trap!"

He swung out with his paw and struck Jem firmly across his left cheek.

Jem shook it off, staring back at his captor. Blood trickled from his lip as his eyes burned deep into the rat leaders, who, not wanting to show any signs of weakness, merely raised an eyebrow and walked to the back of the line.

"Yew head the slaves up. I'll, uh... defend our rear."

The other rats chorused in unison. "Aye, chief."

The rat chieftain only went a few more paces. A black paw grabbed his neck from behind and pulled him into the shrubbery. He saw the rad blaring eyes of a black squirrel staring at him. A dagger was held high in his paw.

Sauvin spoke in a croaking voice.

"Nobody hurts my friend and lives."

Sauvin plunged the dagger harshly into the rat's throat. The leader gurgled and his eyes misted over. Sauvin withdrew the dagger and let it drip on the ground. The first sound of the drop hitting the earth blew some emotion into Sauvin's face. He smiled sickly and laughed as the rat's eyes went up into his head and he died.

The rats, not knowing their leader had deceased, kept walking, without looking back, lest they be yelled at.

Sauvin looked out from the bushes and saw his friends on the slave line. He took the keys from around the rat leaders waist and slipped them deep into his thick, yet sleek, fur.

One by one, like a phantom, Sauvin snuck up behind each and every rat and slit their throats quietly, leaving their bodies on the road. The final rat realized that it was, indeed, very quiet behind him, and he turned to see what was going on. He was indeed surprised to see all of his comrades lying on the ground, dead as doornails. His eyes darted to Sauvin, who was standing a fair distance from him. Not realizing he would be leaving slaves behind, he ran for his life, screaming like a wild beast. Sauvin merely hurled one of his knives at him, and the knife struck home. The dagger protruded from the back his neck, and Sauvin plucked it out like a berry from a bush.

Sauvin walked over to his friends and opened their locks. His friends, not knowing what had happened because of it's speed, took a little time to register. Feran looked at Sauvin and all the dead rats on the road and gawped wordlessly at him.

"I slew them."

Instead of being his normal, only slightly high voice, his voice was noticably deeper and monotone. In the night it would send chills up creatures spines, and would frighten even the most stubborn little one into having three baths and an early bedtime. This change in his voice was remarkably quick and strange.

Feran screeched. Not only because Sauvin had brutally slain ten rats, but also because he had spoken. "Oh Sauvin! You talked! You talked!" She threw her arms around him.

Sauvin shrugged. "Doesn't everybody?"

Feran laughed. "Aye, everybody talks, but you... This is big for you. We were worried that you would never talk again because of what happened."

Sauvin looked around. "Well, we should probably get going."

Theothercaptivesstared indignantly at him. "What about us? You're not just going to leave us chained together, are you?"

Sauvin stared at them.

Feran snatched the keys from his paws. "Of course we're not. You're free to go."

The two mice, male and female, were obviously married. They laughed as the chains fell of their paws and shouted out with joy. "Oh! Oh, we're free! Thank you, Sauvin! We owe you our lives!"

Sauvin stared at them. "It was nothing. Really."

The husband shook his paw. "Oh, but it wasn't nothing! You saved us from vermin! We were certainly going to die!"

Sauvin shrugged.

"Look, I would like to stay and talk, but we have a tight schedule. We must be moving on."

The female squirrel chained to the slave line was in a daze. She stared at Sauvin. Everything about him was amazing to her. His black, shiny fur, and his amazing agility. The daggers at his waist and his accuracy with throwing. His muscles were visible, but not bulky. She grabbed his paws.

"Oh my, Sauvin, you... you saved us!"

Sauvin tugged his paw free.

Jem tapped his footpaw on the ground. "Yes, He did. It's what we've been talking about for the past two minutes."

The female squirrel scratched her head. "I don't know what I'm thinking. Oh, well, I'm sorry I budded in."

Sauvin furrowed his brow. "Right. Well, we have to go."

Feran looked at them as she was forced to walk away with Sauvin. "I'm sorry! I wish we could talk, but we really do have a tight schedule!"

After they gone some distance, Jem nudged Sauvin in the side. "Hey hey, Mr. Smooth! That female squirrel had her eye on you. I could tell!"

Sauvin shook his head. "So? We're only thirteen. It's too early to be thinking like that."

Jem was left silent as they continued walking.

"But honestly, this is a good sign for a happy life with wife and kids! I'm telling you, the ladies are innnnterested!"

Sauvin didn't even blink to this comment, which would excite any other squirrel his age. "I treat females no different than I would treat males. I will probably never even get married."

Jem leaned over to Feran and shook his head. "'Tis a shame that the only one who isn't interested is the one that gets their attention..."

Feran raised her eyebrows. "Maybe you spend too much time trying to get their attention, and you annoy them into oblivion."

Jem glared at her. "What are you trying to say?"

Feran shrugged. "Oh, nothing..."

_Author's Note: Haha! Sauvin's hate of dripping and his loss of emotion has been explained, but what about his aloofness? Why does he always seem to want to be alone? Why does he not consider anyone his friend?_

_These questions will be answered soon enough._


	3. To Salamandastron!

_Author's Note: If you've been a reader from the very beginning of my writings, you'd know I normally take less than 20 days to update. Unfortunately, recent events have caused meto put off my writings. For one thing, I went to Florida from the beginning of March to the the fourth week in march, with no writing at all. Second of all, My older brother came home from college and messed with my computer, and I ended up with a 30 day trial. Unfortunately, it expired when I was on vacation. Reason number three was the whole deal of installing my new operating system, and that took a week or two. But now I have it installed, expect normal chapters to be back in a regular pattern, though Sauvin will be harder to update since the chapters are long, and I edit them thoroughly._

Chapter 3

_On the road to Salamandastron_

It was a long day, it seemed for the plants, lacking rain and getting nothing but blistering heat and scorching sun. The sandy roads were hot, and unbearable for any creature to walk on without sandals.

Jem faltered under exhaustion. "Uggh! This is torture! Are we there yet?"

Feran looked at the map and said sarcastically, "Oh, yes, Salamandastron is right around the next corner!"

Jem breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good, I'm hungry."

Feran whacked him sharply on the back of the head. "I'm joking, you dolt!"

Jem rubbed the throbbing spot on his head and whined. "Geez, y'don't have to be so harsh about it."

Feran stared at the ground. "I'm sorry about that, Jem. It's just, you complaining about the sun isn't going to make things all better. We're all roasting, aren't we Sauvin?"

Sauvin looked at them. He scratched his head and shrugged. "I guess."

Jem smiled. "Oh good, let's stop and eat."

Feran nodded, looking inside her haversack. She rummaged around for something tasty and found a simple turnip. The otter stared sadly at the tiny turnip and took a small bite out of it.

"I wish we had a pot. We could make some good soup with these vegetables in my haversack."

Jem smiled, and then pulled a decent sized pot out of his haversack.

"Hah! Dealot put this in here! It fit perfectly around the inner edge of the big pocket, forming a steel outline in my haversack. After that, she put all of the food in it. I was wondering why this thing was so heavy..."

Feran shrieked excitedly as she snatched the pot from Jem's paws. "Oh goody! Now we can make soup with turnips and leeks! I wonder if I have any potatoes..." She looked back into her Haversack.

Jem looked at the contents of his own haversacks. "I see two potatoes and some parsley. Ooh! Salt and pepper!"

Feran smiled as she took a rock slab from the side of the road and began putting vegetables on it.

Sauvin looked through his own haversack and pulled out a bushel of carrots and some vegetable stock. "I have some more things." He handed them to her, along with a tinderbox and stirring spoon.

Feran eyed the contents of the soup suspiciously. "You know, I think Dealot was testing us..."

Jem looked at her strangely. "What do you mean, testing?"

Feran looked again at the ingredients and laughed. "Don't you see? She put all of the contents of a perfect soup into different haversacks! It would take our three good minds to put the haversacks together and form one meal!"

Sauvin nodded.

Jem poured some vegetable broth into the pot and went over to the river to fill a little more with water. Feran chopped up the carrots, onions and potatoes as Sauvin started a fire.

In moments, Sauvin had the fire blaring by the side of the road. He looked at his work, and, any other creature smiling, he merely alerted Feran. She turned and backed up quickly as she saw the embers burning brightly and flames shooting up nearly three feet high.

"How do you do that?"

Sauvin shrugged.

Jem returned soon with the soup broth, and Feran poured the chopped vegetables into the pot. After quickly constructing a hanger for the pot to go over the fire, Feran stirred the soup. Sauvin, instead of preparing something else to eat, merely sat meditating on his surroundings.

The sharp bubbling and popping of the soup flickered in front of him. Jem scraped a rough stone against the blade of his sword. The screeching made Sauvin flick his ears. The tree he was leaning against seemed to vibrate in the short wind that passed. A cool air settled and the sun shone brightly through the trees from the west. Evening was dawning. All seemed calm enough.

The soup bubbled and spitted at Feran, and she shielded her eyes as it popped in her face. One smaller drop went soaring through the air and hit Sauvin directly on his nose, and he came out of thinking like a jolt of lightning.

He roared, tearing a dagger from his belt. His eyes blared red and he gritted his teeth in anger as he muttered incoherently.

Jem raised an eyebrow at him. "Eh?" He was caught by surprise, seeing as Sauvin actually expressed emotion.

Feran looked at Jem. "Well, now we know he might have a chance at living a normal life. I mean, it seems to me like he can speak in anger."

Sauvin realized he had spoken irrationally and cam back to reality. "Oh, sorry. I-... I don't know what I was thinking."

Feran took a concerned look at Sauvin before smiling at the soup. "It's done!"

Jem quickly came by with three clay bowls that were in Sauvin's haversack. "Alright, dish it out already!"

Feran raised an eyebrow at him, shook some salt into the soup, and stirred again. She lifted the ladle to her mouth and took a sip. "Ah! Perfect!"

Jem looked at the soup maliciously, as if he would've downed the entire pot with one gulp. He stared hungrily at the soup being poured into his bowl. The hungry mouse immediately set to work demolishing it.

Feran laughed at him. "Hungry, are we?"

Jem didn't even look up to say yes. He merely raised his free paw, giving her a paws up.

She giggled, pouring soup for Sauvin and then for herself. She handed the bowl to Sauvin. The black squirrel took it and calmly sipped it.

Jem grabbed the lade for more soup.

Feran looked at the pot. Four bowls had been eaten and almost all of it was gone.

"There's enough for one more bowl. Sauvin, do you want it?"

Sauvin looked up at her, his eyes wide as he put a paw to his lips. "Shhhh."

Feran looked at him strangely. "What are you-"

"Quiet!" He said softly, his eyes, solid gray, still abnormally wide. In moments, they shifted to black, and he darted silently up the tree.

Feran looked at Jem strangely. "What was that all about?"

She had read Jem's mind.

* * *

Sauvin dashed and jumped across trees, merely making a sound as he went. Something in the forest had disturbed his ears. It seemed almost like a cry for help.

The black squirrel stopped and listened again, his nerves and senses telling him where to go. It was soon that he heard a muffled cry from below. He looked down, left and right, and finally spotted what he was looking for. A tiny band of a fox and three stoats. They were dragging a pretty female squirrel, about Sauvin's age, maybe a year younger, by the paws.

Wounds covered her body; some were cuts, others bruises. It was obvious she had fallen down a couple of times and scraped her limbs and joints.

She was bound at the tail and her paws were tied together. The tail end was held by the three stoats, and the rope around the paws came forwards and was held by the fox. The fox was pulling the squirrel along, her cries muffled by the gag around her neck. Everyonce and a while, the stoats in the back would chuckle and stop, and when the fox pulled on the rope in front, she would be mercilessly stretched out by her tail and paws.

Sauvin cocked his head slightly, and then sped across one branch to another until he was above the five creatures. He knew he could not get down undetected, so he pulled two knives from his belt and began to note the wind and air resistance around him. The genius squirrel had learned all about these factors naturally, being a child prodigy. With both arms he threw the knives as he fell gracefully from the branch he was on. He fell like a feather, it seemed, spread eagle from the sky. In moments, he grunted as he grabbed one of the branches closer to the ground and pulled himself onto it.

The knives that he threw were nearly perfectly aimed. One cut the rope on her tail cleanly in half, but the other on cut the bonds cut the rop halfway. The stoats behind her took the situation very slowly and it did not register until the squirrel took action. She noticed there was no more pulling on her tail, and she also saw the black daggers fall from the sky and weaken the ropes considerably. The threads hold both ends together were severely damaged.

She saw her chance.

The young female squirrel tugged harshly on the rope and it snapped. The leader fox was caught by surprise, losing his balance and falling on his back. Knowing that her chances were slim with the bonds still around her paws, she dashed into the forest, in hopes of finding her rescuer.

She did.

_Whump!  
_She rammed harshly into Sauvin's solid body. Both of them lost their balance and fell backwards. The female squirrel propped herself up onto her paws. She looked up and saw Sauvin doing the same. The black squirrel cocked his head slightly as he looked back at her strangely. The female squirrel did not know what to say.

"Er, hello... Did you... Rescue me?"

Sauvin nodded plainly. Bolting to his feet, he charged off in the direction of the vermin.

The female squirrel was completely taken aback. She shrieked after him. "B-but... the vermin are in that direction!"

Sauvin stopped to look back, this time with red, fiery eyes. "I know."

"But they'll-"

"Forget it! Run to the northwest! My friends are eating their soup there! They'll cut your bonds! Tell them that Sauvin sent you!"

And with that, the black squirrel turned and began running with incredible speed in the direction of the vermin.

The female squirrel scratched her head and got up to continue running. "He said southeast, so if the sun is setting over there, that must be south, so..." She was sure of her directions.

* * *

Jem greedily licked the bottom of his bowl, making impudent slurping noises.

Feran watched him, disgusted. "You know, if you always complain about people not appreciating you, I could point out the immature things about you. You would be surprised."

Jem looked up for a moment, then resumed slurping.

Feran rolled her eyes hopelessly. "Will you ever mature?"

Jem shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not."

Feran laughed. She was interrupted by the figure of a dark squirrel dropping from the sky. Sauvin calmly walked back to the tree on which he was leaning against minutes before he had left.

Jem gawped at Sauvin as the black squirrel did not tell them anything or show his friends any concern.

Feran looked at him awkwardly. "Well..."

Sauvin glanced over at her. "Well what?"

Feran held her paws out in bewilderment. "We were just casually eating our soup, and then a couple minutes ago, you tell us to be quiet and you dash up a tree and out of sight! Where did you go?"

Sauvin smiled at them. Soon, a huffing voice could be heard. It moved closer and closer to the camp.

In moments, a young female squirrel tore through the bushes by the famp and fell onto her knees. "Vermin!"

The squirrel looked up and saw Sauvin sharpening his knives on a rock. She stared at him, her eyes wide. "You! You rescued me! How did you get here before me?"

Sauvin nodded. "Get ready, Jem. Feran, get your bow and arrows. Jem take out your sword. You... Your name is..."

The squirrel seemed to be hit with reality and she shook her head in shock. "Oh! Oh my name? It's Relma. I have a last name but I don't like to use it because it seems to formal when you're-"

Sauvin shushed her with the simple paw on her lip. "Quiet. The vermin are here."

"C'mon! There she is! Get 'er!"

"Yah! She's got other with 'er!"

"Who cares!"

"CHAAAAARGE!"

A single twang of a bowstring met the front stoat's ears. The shaft sailed straight into his neck, coming out the back.

Feran cried out in anguish. "Agh! I've killed a beast!"

Jem drew his sword as Sauvin and Relma dealt with the other two stoats.

Sauvin slipped her a dagger from behind his back. "Use it carefully."

Relma looked at the solid black blade in wonder. She cut her bonds and whirled around, accidentally severing the top of the salt shaker.

Sauvin slashed one vermin easily on the arm, causing him to fall, screaming in anguish. Feran took the demolished salt shaker and dumped it into the wound.

"Yeeeeearrrgh!" The vermin roared, jumping into the air as the pain burst inside his arm. Sauvin laid him low with a dagger butt to the back of the head. The other stoat rushed Relma, not wanting to attack the seemingly seasoned squirrel warrior. Relma shut her eyes and held the dagger up with her paw.

"Ahahahaaaa! Who cares 'bout slaves! I want blood!"

Sauvin merely flicked his wrist and the stoat fell to the ground with a dagger in his back. Relma looked up and saw the two stoats slain on the ground. She stared wide-eyed at Sauvin.

Meanwhile, Jem was having a one-on-one battle with the fox. His sword was much longer and double edged, but the fox's was curved and only sharp on one side, giving Jem the advantage. Steel clashed steel to determine the fates of either beast. Jem swung low, and the fox jumped. The fox attempted to bring the sword down, but missed and took a chunk out of the earth.

Jem laughed scornfully. "Do you really use that sword often, or is it just for show? It seems to me that you would have to us a thirty foot sword to reach me!"

This was met with an angry blow to the left shoulder. Jem growled and backed away, holding the wound. The mouse decided not to be cocky from now on. The fox watched Jem on the ground, writhing around in anguish. Sauvin made to grab the knife out of the stoats back and throw it, but Jem halted him.

"No! I'll take him myself!"

Jem stood up and looked at the fox with anger and frustration. "You'll pay for that!"

He swung, but it was easily parried. They both swung again, locking blades, and it was all up to strength, now. They looked at each other through the blades, the fox grunting as he pushed Jem further and further backwards.

"Oh yes? And wot's that?"

Jem's gaze rose slowly from the ground and into the fox's eyes. He took an intimidative step towards him, the adreniline bursting inside him and fueling his muscles.

"YOUR HEAD!"

Jem put on an amazing show of strength, shoving as the fox's sword with his own, and then cleanly chopping the fox's head to the ground. The mouse looked at his enemy, laughing scornfully for a moment, and then, at realization of what he'd done, his eyes widened and he dropped to his knees.

"What the-! I slew him, and I was laughing! That was... That was amazing! I never knew how much heat there was in a battle. I felt absorbed--As if I'd never be happier!"

Feran put a paw on Jem's shoulder. "Get up, Jem. It's over now."

Relma, the squirrel maiden had watched the entire thing wide eyed.

Feran looked at her. "Er... And who are you again?"

"My name is Relma. I live very close to here. Thank you so much for what you did to help me! I was afraid I would never see my friends and family again!"

Feran nodded. "Well, do you need us to escort you back?"

Relma opened her mouth, but shut it again. "Well..." She said, opening again, following the others, as they decided to being walking at this very time. "I don't think I need the help, but I would appreciate it very much. I'm a little rattled, and my home seems to be in the direction you are traveling in. Where are you headed?"

Jem took the map out of his haversack. "Salamandastron. We're going because of our friend Sauvin here. He suffered an emotional trauma, destroying all of his ability to express emotion, and we wanted to see the great healer that lives there. There is one, isn't there? One of our elders told us her name was Kacime Zen...?"

Relma's eyes widened and she nodded. "Ooh, Kacime! She... Well, she's going nuts. She's brilliant, but crazy. I think she still helps people out, but I don't know if she still has her sanity. Not to mention she as about as old as that rock your standing on."

Jem immediately jumped off the rock he standing on, the thought of a strange hag being under his footpaws. "Yeeeegh! You're givin' me the heeby-jeebies!"

Relma raised an eyebrow. "Heeby-jeebies?"

Jem held out his paws in his attempt to explain. "Y'know, like the jitters. When that tingle runs up your spine? You know what I'm- Do you? You don't. Okay, fine."

Feran shook Relma's paw. "Thank you so much for your help. Look, is that tree over there your house? I can see creatures walking about in it."

Relma nodded. "Oh thank you! That's them! I can take it from here!"

Feran and Jem both waved good-bye as Relma turned and left. They glanced at each other for a moment, and then Relma turned her head and walked into what seemed an emotional reunion. An older male squirrel and female squirrel ran out to meet her, jumping and yelling aloud.

"Oh, Relma! You're home! Did you bring the cherries?"

"Oh, no, Mother. I believe I have forgotten them."

"Well, no matter. You certainly gave us a fright when you left for them and didn't come back. Oh my! Look at those wounds! Did you have a run-in with rats? We must get you cleaned up!"

Feran turned to see Sauvin already leaving. She hurried to catch up with him. "That's very annoying, you know..."

Sauvin looked at her. "What?"

Feran rolled her eyes. "Just because you can't express it doesn't mean you have to avoid it."

Sauvin raised one eyebrow at her. "What are you talking about?"

The otter shook her head despairingly. "That wonderful reunion back there! They were having a grand old time reuniting after believing their daughter was lost! I can't believe you didn't stay!"

Sauvin walked resolutely onwards. "I can't believe you would let those things slow you down."

Feran opened her mouth for a moment, but shut it again, not wanting to argue with her insane friend.

They were finally back on the road, making much progress. The sun was still beating toughly on them as they walked but they knew that it was for each other that they were on this journey. Feran thought of Sauvin and the trouble he had caused himself and the rest of the village the entire attack, and she wanted to be angry. She wanted to slap him repeatedly and roar at him for what he did, but she couldn't. The otter sighed as she saw that Sauvin had recieved the worst of the battle. He had lost everybody, and been scarred for life, for all they knew.

The sun was finally beginning to set, and a cool matress of air settled on them. Jem sighed happily as he felt the breeze running through his hair. This was the life. On the road, living like rugged explorers. He lifted dirt from the ground and let it fall from his paw gradually, watching it flow behind him as he walked. The mouse had almost forgotten his parent's deaths, surprising because it had not even been a week since they died. His friends were apparently all he needed.

Feran shook her head as the sun went down. "At this rate, we won't get to Salamandastron until winter. I propose we walk late into the night."

Sauvin shrugged. Jem groaned. "Into the night? But what about resting?"

Feran glared at him. "We've done enough sitting around ever since we started! Have you noticed that the Salamandastron trip is going to take three times as long as normal?"

One of Jem's eyes twitched. "But this is the fourth day."

Feran looked at him strangely. "Nooooooo. I never would've guessed that we didn't make it halfway in that time." She said matter-of-factly

Jem looked around. "Alrighty, then. Night walking it is!"

Sauvin cocked his head from side to side, flipping daggers in his paws casually. "I would've proposed that a long time ago, but you two didn't seem up to the task."

Jem looked at the ground. "Just how long will it take to get to Salamandastron?"

Feran looked at the map. "Whil, the two days of solid walking got us this far..." She put a paws length on the map of the western coast. "So I'm guessing it will take two more days of walking. If we sleep only once in the next 48 hours, preferably at first sun-up, I'm guessing we could get there by midnight in two days."

Jem nodded, slightly anguished. "Sheesh, 40 hours of nonstop walking. This is going to funnnnn."

Feran stowed away the map, focusing on the road ahead. "Nobody ever said it would."

Jem sighed. "I know, but still... I wish we were back at the village, surviving on whatever food we had left."

Feran whirled around, her eyes filling with tears as she gritted her teeth. "You'd like to live in that mass graveyard? You'd like to live in your past? You'd like to live in the house your parents were slain in? You'd like Sauvin to get up every morning and be reminded of all the damage Shverik Denken caused?"

Jem backed away slowly, not knowing what to say. "I... I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean it that way!"

Feran turned around, quite happy with herself in getting Jem to quiet down.

And so, as the night went on, they walked. Their walking seemed to go on for eternity. It was a seemingly endless night, reaching out into the darkness as their road hardly twisted or turned at all. And then, something shiny came over the horizon.

Feran opened one eye and squinted. "It's... The sun! The sun is up!"

Jem looked groggily ahead. "Oh good. Sleep time." And with that, he fell flat on his face and began snoring loudly. Feran had enough energy to get her mat out before sleeping, but Sauvin didn't sleep. He merely sat and stared around into the woods, thinking.

_Why do these events happen? What does any of this mean? If we do find a great healer, there's no difference if we die before we get there or not. I know what's wrong with me already. I just don't feel like expressing emotion any more. Even if I wanted to, I don't think I could. Something is stopping me... but what? I know there's a way out!_

Sauvin sat around and stared for a while, and then forced himself to sleep.

* * *

Feran opened one eye. The otter used her one eye to note that the sun had just passed it's zenith point. After a few moments passed, she rolled over and poked her head up. Sauvin had fallen asleep with his back against a tree trunk, and his head swayed as his breath moved in and out. Jem had rolled over off his face and off the road, and Feran chuckled as he sucked his paw. She got up, rolled her mat up and put it away.

With that, she went over to Sauvin and was about to shake him, but was surprised when he opened one gray eye. "Time to go?"

Feran nodded. "I don't have the heart to wake up Jem... He seems so peaceful, lying there with his paw in his mouth."

Sauvin, who would have laughed if it had been a week ago, merely stared.

Feran sighed. It was not easy having an emotionless friend.

Sauvin did feel bad for his friend and decided to take it upon himself to stir him. He bent over Jem and stared at his eyelids for a short moment, and the mouse opened his eyes. With a shout he jumped up and hit Sauvin's chin. "Aagh! What were you doin'?"

Sauvin rubbed his jaw, flexing it to make it feel better. "I was waking you up."

Jem stared at Sauvin, bewildered. "By staring at me? How is that going to wake anybody up?"

Sauvin shrugged. "Well, it worked, didn't it?"

Jem opened his mouth for a moment, then shut it, knowing he would just make more of a fool out of himself if he said anything more on the subject. "Well, I guess it's time for breakfast. Hand out sones, Feran! Sauvin, I think you have the cream. I have the cider!"

Feran smiled at the thought of breakfast. "Oh good, I like the sound of breakfast, even though it's the afternoon. Afterwards, we must walk some more."

Jem rubbed his aching legs. "Do we have to? Why can't we spend the next night sleeping, and reach salamandastron in the morning? If we get there at midnight, no one will be awake!"

Feran thought for a moment. "You know, I think you're right. I doubt the Badger Lord Urthrun will want to be disturbed in the morning."

Sauvin took the cream out of his haversack. "Are we going to eat?"

Feran nodded. "Oh yes, I have the scones, and do you have that cider, Jem?"

Jem raised a full flask of cider. "'un full flask o' apple coider, comin' roight oop, miz Ferny."

Feran raised her eyebrows. "What's with the sudden mole language? And where did you learn to speak like that?"

"Remember old Aunt Fran? Everyone used to comment on the fact that your names were so similar."

"How could I forget her? She was a nice old mole."

"Well, I took mole language lessons from her, in case I ever needed it. I can tell you, among the little mole club that met every night in the northwest corner, I sure did."

Feran blinked. "Mole club?"

Jem rolled his eyes. "Let's talk about it later. Right now, I want breakfast."

Feran laughed. "Alrighty. Six cherry scones, coming right up!"

Jem licked his lips. "Mmmmmm. Cherry!"

Sauvin stared.

Feran found three small rocks slabs and placed the scones on them. Taking the cream, she carefully applied equal amounts of the thick mixture to each of them. Jem took out three wooden beakers and poured cider into each one. Sauvin played with one of his knives on a tree trunk, his eyes a dreary grey.

The three friends decided that they eat breakfast on the road. Jem munched hungrily at his scone, smearing cream liberally over the top as most of it fell off onto the road. Feran ate hers normally, taking average bites here and there. Sauvin was too insecure to eat. He was always glancing left and right, searching for vermin, and thus rarely ever took a bite.

From then on, there were no disturbances. The birds twittered and sang, and the trees rustled, and the soothing voice of the forest calmed the travelers. Through day they walked, stopping only once for dinner, which was large and satisfying (Especially for Jem, who, however, found it very difficult to walk after drinking twelve beakers of strawberry cordial).

_Author's note:_ _Yes, it feels good to be back in business. My first story, Martin the warrior; the dark forest, will need some more time to update, but it will be there. I'm looking forward to seeing __how you respond to my ending that I have planned. Expect the final chapter to be #45!_


	4. Kacime Zen

_Author's Note: Whew! These last couple weeks have been reallllllly busy. I hardly have any time to write anymore, let alone daydream about what happens next. I certainly hope I can get some writing done over my next week off of school..._

Chapter 4

The afternoon sun was a hard thing to bear, boring down into the backs and brows of the three creatures below. One was staggering doggedly forward, the other panting and taking sips of water, and the final creature, who was completely black and emotionless, sweated, though keeping a tight rein on his tongue to protect his dignity.

Jem, however, had nothing holding him back, so he talked often, anguished by heat stroke.

"'Tis a hard day! I don't... think I can make it..."

"Oh, hush up, Jem. We're nearly there."

Jem shook his head. "I can't wait that long. If you wish for me to die in these forsaken lands, promise me you'll carry my shriveled, dry body to the badger lord!" The mouse had on an expression of hardly convincing despair.

Feran glared at him. "Will you be quiet? We can't do anything about the heat. We just have to keep going."

"No! I'm... F-finished."

Jem fell to his knees, staring blankly at the ground. Feran rapped him sharply between the ears with he walking staff.

"Get up or I'll have at you with the sharper end of my stick!"

Jem scrambled forwards, rubbing his head angrily. "Huh, yore startin' to sound like a fussy ol' gran'ma. _"Do this, Jem, do that! Move it or I'll beat ye' with me ol' legendary tanner o' hides!_"

Feran merely continued to look forward, ignoring Jem's remarks. Suddenly, Jem brightened up for a moment.

"Hehe... oh, Ferannnnn!"

"What is it now, Jem?

"I think we _have _to stop!"

"And why's that, Jem?"

Jem laughed. "What time did you say we would be getting there?"

Feran blinked. "Sometime tonight. Why?"

Jem shook his head. "You specifically said, 'midnight'!"

Feran continued walking, giving a slight shrug. "What does this have to do with anything?"

Jem smiled. "If we show up at midnight, don't you think the badger lord will be angry? I mean, after all, he's the badger lord, and he needs his sleep."

Feran stopped. She considered for a moment, then answered. "Ooh, I can't help but think you've won! You're right, we can't stop in at midnight..."

Jem smiled. "Yessirree, I believe the champion of reasoning has won his way into a good nights sleep!"

Feran shook her head. "No, no, you misunderstand. We have to go double time. I want to get there as soon as possible, so we should go! Alright, move it, move it!"

Jem's draw dropped. "Wha...?"

Feran stared at Jem's bewildered face, then laughed.

"Haha! I was only kidding. We're going to stop and rest."

Jem glared at her. "That was a nasty joke, y'know."

Feran smiled. "I know."

Jem threw out the mats. "Well, lie down everyone!"

Feran shook her head. "No, no... We're going to walk until to nighttime. Oh, keep your fur on! The sun's almost setting."

Jem rolled his mat back up. "Alright, fine. I can compromise."

And so, the three friends and their confidence pushed further down the path that seemed never-ending.

* * *

It was three long, painful hours, when Feran finally gave the signal to stop. Jem fell down on his knees, letting off his pack and letting his mat roll out on it's own. The weary mouse fell flat on his back, using his pack as a cushioning for his head.

"My, oh my... See you two in the morning..."

Sauvin stared, his emotion locked inside the rusty, iron chest, sunk at the bottom of the sea in his head. It rattled as the squirrel wished desperately to smile in his amusement. However, in his current situation, he could not show any signs of pleasure or anger.

Feran rolled her mat out along the ground. "Come, now, Sauvin. Don't sleep standing up..."

Sauvin shrugged, rolling his own mat out with one, slight movement of his arm. "I suppose I should sleep, huh?"

Feran nodded. "Nobody can go for long without sleeping."

"Au contraire, O night owl. Makin' us walk all night yesterday..." murmured Jem from his mat.

Feran shook her head, laying her head down on her haversack. "Well, I'm sure we'll all feel better in the morning. Come on, let's get some sleep."

Feran shut her eyes, and Sauvin followed. Soon, all three creatures were sound asleep beneath the stars.

* * *

With a cool new morn, the sun seemed to show mercy on the withering plants, and shone with a mediocre glare. It was downright perfect for travelling beasts, and so it was with Jem.

"Wow! The weather today is sooooo much better than it was yesterday. Very bearable, with a light breeze. You see? I told you we should wait until tomorrow to get to Salamandastron. Aren't I a good thinker?"

Feran smiled. "You're lucky the weather is nice, because if it rained, I would've beaten you over the head with your haversack. You know, the one with the pot on the outer edges. Makes for good whalloping."

Jem shuddered. "Aye, but you forget that I'm the one with the sword. If you had run at me and taken my haversack, I would've cleaved the fur right off your underside. I can tell you right now that the badger lord would find that very amusing."

Feran was surprised at this remark, but she returned with her own assault of words. "Yes, but how would you explain the fact that all of you clothes were strangely burnt when you weren't looking."

Jem laughed. "Ha! I would cleaved _all_ of your fur off if I had known you would've done something as heartless as that!"

"Well, you started it!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Remember all of your ranting about how great you were?"

"I recall you saying that if it had rained, you would've hit me with my own haversack! Ha! Goes to show how cruel you are. Beating on someone because the weather isn't that great."

"I only said that because you wanted us to praise you for your greatness. You know, because we slept, and now it's good weather."

"Yeah, whatever. It's your fault anyways. You threatened me."

"You were boasting!"

"You're both very obnoxious."

The two walking creatures stopped and looked at each other, wondering where the voice came from. It took a few moments to register, and they got angry at Sauvin.

"Whattya mean, we're obnoxious?"

Sauvin remained silent.

"Oh, Jem, I see. How about this, let's play the quiet game. Whoever is the quietest from here to the mountain wins those five apple scones and honey jar in Sauvin's haversack."

Before the attack on the village the few night's before, this had been his particular favorite food. "Why is my food the prize?"

Feran smiled. "Because I figured you would probably win anyways."

Sauvin stared blankly, then continued walking. "I suppose so."

Jem shook his head. "Why don't you talk, anyways?"

Sauvin shrugged. "I don't know. I just have a lot to meditate on. That's all."

This was the first time Sauvin had hinted his remembrance of the attack. Feran was surprised Sauvin had recovered to the point of voluntarily bringing up the subject.

"Alright! First person to talk, or make noise with their mouth loses the quiet game. The game ends once we catch sight of salamandastron."

Jem shook his head in disbelief. "Alright, I think this is stupid, but I'll do it anyways."

So not one of the creatures said a word throughout the rest of their walk. It did not last too long, because Jem had spotted the tip of the mountain from far away.

"Hey! That's it! Sillymeanderstand!"

Feran looked at him oddly. "Uh... Sillymeanderstand?"

Jem shrugged. "All that being quiet caused me to crave strangeness. Thus, sillymeanderstand!"

Feran stared for a moment, then continued walking. Jem followed. "So now that we're not playing the game anymore, we can talk? Good. So I was think that when we got to the castle, we could put our food together and have our personal little feast. Afterwards we could go outside and spar with the friendly hares. I'm sure they wouldn't mind, and we need to become better with our weapons. Maybe then we could go inside and rest, because after coming off that trip, we're sure going to be tired!"

Feran shook her head. "So let me get this straight... You want to fill yourself up on food, go and fight on a full stomach, and then rest because you're tired because of the trip, even though you still had the energy to spar?"

Jem blinked. "Er..."

Feran sighed and kept on walking. Jem remained quiet for the rest of the trip, recieving the subtle hint.

The only time he spoke was when he came around the final bend to the longstretch to Salamandastron. Ahead of them was the wondrous mountain, and it was all that they thought it would be. They, however, did not expect the hundreds of vermin tents lining the shore.

"Woah! Is that...?"

Sauvin drew his blades. "C'mon, let's go and get 'em."

Feran gasped as Sauvin began darting forward. Jem halted him with his sword. Sauvin followed the blade from Jem's paw up to his nose with his eyes. "Are you on their side?"

Jem shook his head. "No, no..."

Feran put her paw on Sauvin's shoulder. "We know you want revenge on your mother, but we can't go and charge them just like that. We need more creatures than just us."

Sauvin glanced around. "Well, what do you suppose we do?"

Feran gnawed on her nails. "Well, the entrance is sure to be guarded, so we have to find another way in... Sauvin, wait!"

Sauvin had already darted down the path around the mountain, which led to the entrance to Salamandastron.

Feran yelled after him. "Just yell if you need us!"

Jem gawped at her. "You mean we're not going to help?"

Feran shrugged. "Well, I figure if he's out for blood, he won't hold back. I don't even think he'll need us."

Sauvin, in the meantime, had left the path, and was scaling the walls on the side of the mountain. He surveyed his surroundings, making sure no one saw him. The black squirrels shifting eyes spotted the entrance to Salamandastron, or at least four guards standing on the path towards the headstone under him. He ducked and rolled behind it, making sure he wouldn't be spotted. Next to him he saw a pile of small rocks. Sauvin curled his lips back into a cruel smile.

The four weasel guards were completely unaware of the squirrel above them, and they sat around staring around, wondering different things(Some things more appropriate than others).

_Yink!_

"Eh? Wuzzat?"

One weasel rubbed his helmet.

The three other guards stared over at him. "Wot are yew talkin' about?"

The one weasel shook his head. "I thought summat just bumped off me helmet..."

"Aww, go back to sleep. Yore nuts."

_Bonk!_

"Yaaah! What wuz that?"

The same weasel yelled.

The other three heard it this time. "Hmm, it's prolly just rubble rollin' off the mountain. Stop botherin' us..."

_Cruuuuuunnch!_

"YEEEEEOOOOEEEWWWW!"

The weasel shrieked as a huge boulder fell and crushed his footpaw. "AAARGH! YEEOW! GET IT OFF!"

The three weasels looked at each other. "That wouldn'ta rolled off th'mountain... I think they're attacking us! Soun' the alarm!"

Sauvin realized that his fun was over. If the vermin launched an attack on Salamandastron, he would be the reason. The black squirrel threw himself over the entrance. "I'm the one you're looking for."

The three remaining weasel guards stared at him. "You? Yore just a kid..."

"Yeah? Give me what you got!"

One weasel raised his spear to throw, but Sauvin was faster.

_Spllrrtt!_

The weasel had a goofy grin on his face as he dropped his spear and hobbled around aimlessly, a dagger in his throat.

"Bring it on, nitwits!"

The the last two weasels ran at him, One with spear, another with sword. Sauvin hurdled the sword stroke, but grabbed the spear on its way by. He tugged it out of the weasels grasp and hit him on the head with it. However, the weasel with the sword let his follow through come all the way around, slicing a gash in Sauvin's back.

The squirrel yelped aloud. His cry rang down the path, reaching the ears of Feran and Jem. They looked at each other, and then darted down the path. As they went, they roared aloud the ancient Salamandastron war cry, hoping to arouse some of the hares in the mountain of their arrival.

"Eulaliaaaaaa!"

However, it only brought about the attention of the four other stoat guards at the side entrance.

"C'mon! Them weasels seem t'be havin' a bit o' trouble. Get yer bottoms up n' at 'em!"

Sauvin kicked the weasel with the spear in the chest, knocking him sideways off the mountain path, and turned to confront the one who had sliced him in the back. The weasel, having normally laughed in the face of a thirteen-year-old, was greatly terrified by the fiery red eyes of the young black squirrel. He shook where he stood, and Sauvin ran him through on the spot.

The last weasel, not including the one who was unconcious from losing the use of his left footpaw, had died from falling about 50 feet from the cliffside mountain path.

Sauvin considered his job done, but then he heard the four stoat guards running around the corner, and he sighed. In his condition, this would probably be his last fight. He did not expect the arrival of Feran and Jem, however, who showed up with bow and sling loaded. Feran let her arrow fly, but it landed harmlessly in one stoat's shield. Jem's slingstonewas completely off target, ricocheting off the mountain wall. However, Jem did not count on it bouncing off and knocking a stoat in the back of the head, sending him falling off the cliffside.

"Hehe... I meant to do that."

Sauvin plucked his dagger from the weasel on the ground and whirled around. Two more daggers let fly, but only one hit near its mark. One stoat ducked and the dagger went soaring behind him onto the path, and the other stuck right through the upperarm of another stoat.

That particular stoat shrieked and pulled the dagger from it angrily. He threw it back, and Jem fell to the ground with a slash in his shoulder.

"Yeeowch!"

Feran returned the blow with an arrow to the stoat's neck. The remaining two stoats were now within close combat range, and Jem had regained his composure and was up with his sword drawn. The two stoats charged, and once again Sauvin found himself facing two familiar weapons; The sword and spear.

The spear was very long, and Jem recieved the unlucky fortune of having to fave the stoat that wielded it. Feran drew her dagger and tried to fight the stoat with the sword, but she also had the disadvantage. Sauvin took this opportunity to go and nonchalantly stab each of them in the back of the neck.

Jem was very surprised when the stoat with the spear fell on him.

"Yeeaagh! What kind of fighting style is this? Kamikaze? Take that!"

The stoat's severed head fell to the ground. It was then that Jem realized Sauvin was holding the dagger.

He smiled wryly. "Hmm, I guess that wasn't very sportsmanlike..."

They were interrupted by a creak coming from the door. An old haremaid stuck her head out and gasped. "You children! What are you doing! It's dangerous out here! You might be attacke-!"

The haremaid spotted the six bodies on the ground and stared in both wonderment and disgust. "You... You killed them all?"

Sauvin shrugged.

"Yes, ma'am." said Feran, shaking her paw. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Feran, from the Greenraven tribe, to the east of here. My friends, also from Greenraven, are Sauvin the black squirrel, and this is Jem. We have come for your lords guidance, and for help for Sauvin here."

The haremaid stared and blinked. "Er... yes! Well, My name is Berum the uh... hare. Please come in."

The old hare beckoned with her paw, looking left and right before they came in. When they had reached the inner corridors, Berum put three big boards up onto holders on the door. She turned around and saw their vague expressions and smiled wryly. "These are trying times. Not to mention there are about a thousand vermin out there who are just ready to come in and slice us to bits! These boards are only the beginning of more defenses to be put up. Right now were installing big cauldrons up there to be filled with boiling water, and we're going to tip them down on their sorry hides when they try to attack us!"

Feran smiled. "We certainly hope you'll let us be a part of your defenses. We've nowhere to go."

Berum stared at them, confused. "Did you say you were from a Greenraven village? Won't you go back there eventually?"

Feran shrugged. "Eventually, yes. Soon, no. You see, our village was attacked by vermin, only eight remain alive. The three of us, my father, and some others..."

Berum stared at them sadly. "Really? Oh, my, children, if there's anything I can do..."

Feran smiled grimly. "That's not all. You see Sauvin? He never smiles, or gets angry, or depressed. He has lost all emotion. That's why we came. To see Kacime Zen."

Berum nodded. "Ooh, Kacime, yes... The old healer. She is... not quite herself anymore. She tends to be quite... bizzare at times. More prevalantly the more she gets older. I'm afraid she won't be with us much longer."

Jem rushed forward. "Then let's hurry! Gotta get 'er before she goes!"

Berum scratched her head. "I didn't mean much longer as in minutes. I meant in seasons..."

Jem blinked. "Right! I knew that."

She led them down the corridors, chattering on a bit more about the eccentric Kacime. "Oh, she hardly comes out of her room anymore. Keeps on blubbering about the light. Her sensitive eyes can't take it n' all that blinkin' rubbish, wot! Also says she can't stand the bloodshed. She wants the vermin t' pack up an' move out. I told her she was one of every flippin' beast in the mountain that shared her thoughts, wot!"

Feran smiled along with Jem. Sauvin stared.

"She has been quite loud recently, screeching whenever she hears the door creak open, or if a fly buzzes around her head. Sometimes I wonder if that 'un was ever a dibbun. Can't imagine what she woulda been like. Look at the dibbuns these days! Some o' them Bubbles and Giggabet. Have you ever considered the hardships those teen yeared beasts will go through? Other beasts will laugh at them and say, 'Hey, look! There goes Giggabet the squirrel!' or, 'Hey, Bubbles! Had your mom overdrank october ale when she named you? She musta seen all those bubbles comin' out of her mouth and thought it was a sign from heaven!"

Jem felt very tempted to point out that Berum was just as crazy as Kacime.

"Well, look at me. I went from talking about Kacime Zen to baby names. I certainly lose my train of thought when I begin to ramble. Now, which of these three options do you want to consider doing?

"Either you could go and see Kacime right away; you could go and see the Badger Lord Urthrun the Gripper; or I can show you to an unused guest room. At least I certainly hope it's unused, because not one blinkin' soul has been through those double doors for months! I suppose that's why I'm rambling so much. You are all new bodies, and I have just so much on my mind, I'm afraid my head will burst! Everyone else is so boring, but I have nothing left to say to them anyways..."

Sauvin thought back to the beginning of her sentences and decided. "Let's go see the Badger lord."

Berum glanced at him. "I do believe I've met my opposite, this squirrel here... He talks in simple, six word sentences, and they barely require commas, either!"

Feran smiled wryly. "That's sort of why we came. Sauvin needs help, and I think we should go see Kacime as soon as possible."

Jem shook his head. "Lead me to the guest room! I am so tired and hungry, I could eat Feran and use her skin as a blanket."

Berum gasped. Feran shook her head angrily. "Jem! Don't speak in such vulgar terms! Keep your mouth shut whenever something stupid is about to come out of your mouth! Oh wait! That particular rule doesn't let you talk much now, does it?"

"Very funny, ha ha, I could fall over dead right here from the hilarity of it all."

Berum gasped again.

Feran stamped her foot. "Would you stop mentioning death! Everyone here is probably very sensitive to that sort of thing!"

Berum shook her head. "No, only me. I lost two children and my husband to vermin last summer."

Feran frowned. "I'm sorry."

"What, did you kill 'em? C'mon, there are no apoligies to be wasted on me. I'm only here to help others, wot!"

Berum lead them down the hall, a tiny tear trickling down her face as she thought of her husband and two sons. All she had left was her daughtr, Rashel.

"Well what do you wish to do?"

Sauvin spoke first, surprisingly. "Let's go see the badger lord."

Jem shuddered. "Are you kidding? I'm not quite ready to feel like an insect."

Feran nodded. "Aye, so let's go see Kacime."

"What? No, I meant we should rest."

"But we came here to see Kacime, and so we should see her as soon as possible!"

"Aw, C'mon Feran, Kacime is going to be here tomorrow!"

"Let's go see the badger lord."

"How do you know that she'll be here tomorrow! She could be hit by an arrow, or the mountain could be invaded!"

"But the likelyhood of that is so slim..."

"Who cares? It's a possibility that I'm not willing to take a chance about!"

"Let's go see the badger lord."

"Feran, even if she did go tomorrow, there's nothing that she could possibly do! There aren't any potions or herbs that she could use on him!"

"Oh, hush up you two." Berum interjected. "Now here's my take on the whole bally thing. Y'can't get a room without seein' the badger lord, so Jem, if y'want a flippin' room, you'll have to see him first. Not to mention, we want Sauvin to be in the best shape possible if he does see Urthrun, so 'e should take wotever 'e can get from Kacime. So I think wot you should do is this: Have Sauvin diagnosed and treated, then see the badger lord. After that, Jem can eat his fill along with the rest of you, and then you can get some rest. Sound good?"

Feran nodded, and Sauvin didn't care. Jem, however, was sour about the whole thing, yet did not rebuttle because of his respect for older creatures.

"Good. Now let's go."

Berum took a right down the next corridor, leading them to a wooden door with an old rusty handle. Berum twisted the small handle and creaked it open.

"Hello, Kacime, I have a patient for you..."

The voice that replied was sickly and hoarse. Jem and Feran could only see the face from which the voice came as being horrible and distorted. "Send him away, I will see no one!"

Jem backed off wide-eyed. "Wellthatsettlesthatcmonletsgo."

Feran however, had determination to make Sauvin well again. "Now just a minute, Kacime! I've come a long way to hear your wise words and see your tremendous healing powers! We won't be turned away now just because you don't feel like it!"

There was a pause.

"Hmm, that sounds like an otter. Otters always intrigued me, being able to swim fast and hold their breath for a very long time... Is she young?"

Berum was the one to speak. "Yes, ma'am."

"Perhaps I will let her in. Who is the patient?"

"A squirrel."

"Oh, those are simply boring. Always grey, never exciting."

Feran smiled. "Actually, the squirrel in particular is a black squirrel."

Another pause. "Black? Now those are exciting. Very exciting indeed. Is there anyone else I should be expecting?"

"A mouse, ma'am."

"Hmm, well I suppose with the eccentricity of the other two that a mouse could even out the score a bit. There is only one condition in which I will let them in."

"And what's that?"

"They must not have blood on them. I can not stand blood."

Sauvin felt the tear in his tunic and the scab beginning to form where the sword had gone by. Jem also had a wound in his shoulder. He smiled.

"Wellthatstoobadletscomeagainsomeotherday." He began walking off.

Feran turned around and grabbed him. "Jem! Get back here! We can manage... Look Sauvin take the extra cloak in your backpack and put it on. She won't be able to see it under that. As for Jem, put on a new tunic."

After undressing and much grumbling from Jem, they were ready to enter. Feran pushed the door open a little more and enter. Sauvin strided into the room without fear, but Jem's legs were shaking as he entered.

The room was L shaped, with the door at the head of the long end. On the walls to their left and right were strange instruments that were old and rusty. Scattered around the ground were old documents written in strange languages, and some old vials and test tubes. Cupboard in the corner had one door open, and on it were corked vials with some sickly looking fluids floating around inside. The room was entirely dark, except for the slitted door behind them and they could see Berum's shadow on the ground ahead of them. Another slight light came from the corner of the L shaped room, and they saw Kacime for the first time.

She was an ancient hare, droopy nose and ears folded down onto her head. He eyes were gray, bloodshot, and crusted, shifting slowly over the three friends features. Her clothes were surprisingly very nice and clean, as she wore an old, frilly dress that could've be mistaken for sleepwear. She sat in a cushioned armchair, gazing at them. She spoke again, but this time in a less ghastly voice. It was obvious that yelling had made her sound horrible.

"Now then, Sauvin, please sit down..."

Sauvin was surprised that she knew his name, but he did not show it.

"Jem. Feran. You also."

She directed with a feeble hand towards four old wooden rocking chairs on the edge of the room.

"Pull them over here in front of me, would you?"

The three friends wasted no time.

"Now then, Sauvin, what seems to be your problem?"

Feran interjected. "Well, he doesn't ever-"

"Quiet, young 'un. Let him answer for himself."

Feran sat back in her seat, quite embarrased.

"...I-I-... I don't-..."

"Don't be shy, you can tell me."

"I don't show emotion."

"Why not?"

"I don't know."

"Oh, now there must be a reason. Tell me."

"I'm telling you, I don't know."

"Is it because you don't want to? Is it because you don't care for them? Is it because another emotion is empowering your mind...?" She emphasized the last question.

Sauvin blinked. Feran and Jem glanced at each other. How did this healer know so much about them?

"Now, Sauvin, please tell me."

Sauvin remained silent. Kacime nodded. "I see. I will have to resort to other means."

Kacime strained her legs and stood up on them. Jem and Feran were surprised she could even stand, let alone walk. But she did, right over to the cupboard in the corner. She removed three vials, uncorking each and sniffing. Afterwards, she took a vial of water and walked back to her seat, sitting down.

"Sauvin, what do you think of this?"

Kacime began mixing the four elements into a smaller, empty vial.

Sauvin shrugged. "I don't know. You're just mix-"

He paused. The elements combined to form a sickly red color. Exactly like blood.

Kacime stared at him. "Well? What's wrong?" She said as she took an eye dropper and began removing liquid from the vial.

Sauvin merely stared, horrified. His eyes turned red. _What is that potion she just made? Is it poison? It sure looks like it. It reminds me of (!)_

An eruption formed in Sauvin's mind, his eyes burning. Kacime took the full eye dropper and flicked some at him. It hit his nose.

Sauvin began to sob. "Stop it..."

She did it again.

_Drip._

Sauvin gritted his teeth, tears pouring freely down his face. "I SAID STOP IT."

"I don't think so. Tell me why you don't express emotion!"

_Drip._

"STOP IT OR I WILL SLAY YOU!"

Sauvin's mind nearly collapsed and jumped at her, but she threw her hand into the air. Out of her open palm, some ash-like substance soared out and hit his eyes.

"_YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"_

It burnt in his eyes, and he jumped around the room, screeching in terror. Kacime remained completely calm, but Jem and Feran wanted to scream themselves. Both amazed and frustrated at how she knew everything about them, and also how cruel she was to Sauvin.

"Stop it! Make it stop, Kacime!" Feran yelled over Sauvin. As if on queue, Sauvin fell over and began snoring.

Jem chuckled. "That was actually rather comical!"

Kacime smiled. "I know. I like to mess with my patients."

Feran was angry. "You are so horrible! Messing with Sauvin's fears and angers. How did you know them anyways?"

Kacime stared at the ground. "Well, if you want the truth, I will tell it to you.

"You see, I am a healer, but I don't stop there. I'm a seer of sorts. I've seen you three in my dreams before. I've seen you village being destroyed, and I've seen your friends traumas."

Feran blinked. "Wow. That's amazing."

Kacime nodded. "Yes, I've been seeing that same vision ever since last autumn."

"What?" Jem was angry. "You've been seeing that vision since before it happened!"

Kacime nodded. "Like I said. I'm a seer. I can see the _future_. You mice aren't very bright."

Jem blinked.

Kacime shook her head. "Then again, I've met some smarter beasts of your race."

Jem blinked again.

Kacime continued her lecture. "Now, I will speak with you again in the future. As for now, run along and get some food and rest."

Jem grinned. "This woman just keeps on talkin' sense!"

_Author's note: Well, chapter 4 is up finally. As for those waiting for Martin, I suppose that will have to wait. I have two weeks until school is out, and I won't have much on my mind. Plenty of time for brainstorming. I haven't been able to write because I don't have ideas or time. Please read and review, and make this story memorable. This is only the beginning._


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